


Keep It In The Family

by Dragongirl180



Series: Gabenath One-Shots [10]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, gabenath, glorious fluff, hawknath, i needed my own fic before the episode airs, inspired by felix, oops not a oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-01-29 23:10:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21418207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragongirl180/pseuds/Dragongirl180
Summary: Felix comes to town and sows discord within the Agreste household. Gabriel is pretty much fine with it. This couldn't go wrong at all.
Relationships: Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth & Nathalie Sancoeur, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur
Series: Gabenath One-Shots [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1493399
Comments: 23
Kudos: 149





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wordseeker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordseeker/gifts).
**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in love with the concept of Felix just showing up to ruin lives and watch the world burn. We love a chaotic evil. I started writing this before the trailer for Felix ever came out.
> 
> This is a gift for Wordseeker, one of my absolute favorite creators and fellow gabenath enthusiast. Check out her fics as well as her ig @[sancoeur_admirer](https://www.instagram.com/sancoeur_admirer/?hl=en)

It was almost 4 in the morning when there came a loud knocking on the front door. Adrien only heard it because he had already been awake and talking to Plagg, fresh off a late night patrol with Ladybug. His first thought was how had someone gotten past the gates. His second was, who in the world would be here at this ungodly hour?

He knew he should’ve gotten someone up to go see who it was, but he didn’t want to bother Nathalie or his father, and his bodyguard wouldn’t show up for work for a few more hours. Once he reached the door and pulled it open, it took him a minute to realize just who he was looking at.

“Cousin! Thank goodness someone was awake,” Felix said before pulling him into a hug.

"Felix. I didn't know you were in Paris."

Adrien was still half asleep, but made sure to close the front door as quietly as possible after Felix dragged his suitcase into the foyer. 

"I'm just…uh passing through, but mother insisted I come see you. I think my parents were just trying to get me away from them for a while."

"Why so early?" 

"I took the early train so it wouldn't be packed. I do so detest being around others, especially when it comes to public transport."

"Oh…fair enough. I'd get my father or Nathalie but I don't want to wake them."

"Who's Nathalie?" 

"She's my-" 

"Adrien what are you doing…oh."

Both boys turned to see a figure walking down the stairs. Adrien immediately recognized Nathalie's voice, but the rest of her looked like a completely different person. Instead of the usual suit, she was dressed in a simple t-shirt and leggings and her glasses were gone, making her blue eyes stand out even more among her wavy black hair. She looked so much younger when she wasn't in work mode. 

"Mrs. Agreste. I'm so sorry to have come at such an early hour, but I just couldn't wait to see the family."

Adrien's eyes went wide when he heard what Felix called her. He noticed her stiffen only slightly before her face went blank and her voice took on a more formal tone.

"You're mistaken. I'm Mr. Agreste's assistant, Nathalie. We weren't expecting you so early, but it's fine. Come with me and we'll find you a room."

"Oh yes. I'm sorry. I forgot you're just the help."

Nathalie raised a single brow at the comment, but decided not to grace him with a reply. Adrien wasn't sure why Felix had called her Mrs. Agreste, especially when he was pretty sure he had met her before. 

He watched as Felix not so subtly nudged his suitcase toward the woman, but she made no move to grab it. Adrien hid his laugh behind a smirk. Nathalie would help with anything if you asked her, but that courtesy was only extended to the household and people she liked. He was sure Felix's comment had soured her opinion of him almost instantly. 

“Adrien, I trust you can show your cousin to one of the guest rooms, right?” she asked as she turned to him.

“Yes, Nathalie. Of course.”

“Felix can carry his own bags. He must be full of a lot of energy right now if he was able to survive the early train. I’ll tell your father of his arrival when the day actually starts, but until then you both are to leave him be and do not wake him.”

She didn’t even wait for them to reply before she trudged back up the stairs. Little did they know, she was already dreading the extra coffee she was going to need and how she was going to have to fight off Duusu more than she normally had to. The kwami loved drinking her coffee when she wasn’t looking, but today she was going to need every last drop.

* * *

“I think we should do something about Felix.”

Gabriel barely looked up from his work as his disgruntled assistant and a cloud of angry emotions stormed into his office. She slammed the door behind her, causing Nooroo to jump on his shoulder.

“What did he do?”

“He’s been disrupting Adrien’s studies and causing general chaos at school for him as well as in the mansion. It's getting quite ridiculous, what you've been willing to put up with throughout this entire week.”

“He is simply doing what I expected him to do.”

“What?”

“Nat, you’ve met him before. Don’t tell me his behavior is surprising.”

“Well yes, it's definitely not, but I didn't think that was why you had him visit. I thought you wanted Adrien to not be so lonely for once.”

“That was part of it, but I also wanted him to bring his certain...talents along with him.”

“You _ wanted _ this to happen?”

“Of course I did. Felix has been a little shit since before he learned to walk. I figured he would be perfect to sow some discord among the people of Paris.”

“Gabriel, forgive me, but what the hell were you thinking?”

“I saw an opportunity to further our goals and took it. Are you not happy about that? Do you not relish the fact that this mere boy is giving us so many new victims?”

“Not when it involves Adrien.”

“He will be fine. I always make sure of it.”

“Yeah and see how well that’s worked out in the past. Does Gorizilla ring a bell? Style Queen, perhaps? Startrain??”

“I will admit that mistakes have been made, but you can’t expect perfection, ok?”

“Does Adrien not warrant that?”

“Careful now, Nathalie.”

“No. Adrien is your son. He is supposed to be the most important thing in your life. Any plan that has the remote chance of hurting him should instantly set off alarms in your head.”

“Are you insinuating that I don't care enough about him?”

“I said nothing of the sort, but if you want to see it that way…”

He reached forward and grabbed her wrist. His grip wasn’t tight, but she could feel it starting to restrict her the more he talked and the more angry he got.

“I don’t think I like your tone of voice right now,” he growled.

“So now you’re treating me like the child! Big powerful Gabriel Agreste. The great and terrible Hawkmoth. You just can’t stand it when someone calls you out, can you? You’re scared because deep down, you know I am right. You take liberties when it comes to his safety and one of these days, things aren’t going to turn out so well.”

“Do not talk down to me. I am _ your _ boss, remember?”

“Oh I remember plenty. I just wish you would do the same.”

She pulled her wrist out of his grip and turned on her heel, making a beeline for the door. She stopped in the doorway, but never turned to look at him when he yelled after her.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m taking my break early today. That might give you some time to think about some things. Goodbye, _ sir_.”

She knew he hated when she called him that when they were alone, but he deserved it and she made sure to say it with as much disdain as she could. The little burst of anger that she felt from him after was more than enough to make her smirk. She knew she had gotten to him.

Once the sound of the front door slamming signaled that she was gone, Gabriel let out an angry shout. It was times like these that made him wish for an actual desk, so he could sweep its contents onto the floor. He was close to destroying the office like he had when he was akumatized, but a familiar feeling made him stop. He could feel an incredibly large amount of anger coming from the school, the work of Felix no doubt.

“Seems like there's someone in this awful town who is more upset than me. They’ll be perfect to relieve some stress.”

Nooroo flew out in front of him and try to reason with him. 

“Master, is that wise? You shouldn’t take out your anger on others.”

“Do not question me Nooroo! I shall do whatever I please. You are here to serve!”

“Of course, but...” 

“But what!?”

“Master, you never send out akumas when Nathalie is out of the house. Don’t you care about her safety?”

“She’ll be fine. She made her choice.”

The butterfly kwami merely nodded in response as his master glared ahead. When the usual lift was activated and took them to the lair, he could only hope that Nathalie and Duusu wouldn’t be caught by whatever Gabriel had planned.

“Nooroo, dark wings rise!”

Gabriel was glad of his transformation because he could now feel just how powerful the emotions he had sensed earlier really were. This akuma would be something. The only downside was that now he could also feel his assistant's feelings as well. Somewhere out there, she was feeling hurt and angry and it was all directed at him. A small part of him was screaming at him to at least get her back in the mansion before he did this, but the bigger and more angry part of him won out. She was lucky he didn’t akumatize her instead.

He plucked a stray butterfly from the air and turned it onto an akuma. His stress was already fading away, but he couldn't help but feel like he was missing something. He knew exactly _ who _ it was though he ignored it. No distractions today. Once the connection was made, he spoke to his three new victims through their telepathic link.

“Confucion, I am Hawkmoth. I can’t help but notice that someone tied all your shoelaces together. Such a shame that no one has reprimanded this boy who has caused you so much trouble. I sense you want justice for his acts and you shall have it. I’m giving you the power to judge all those that have evil in their hearts and distribute punishments to them. All I ask in return is that you bring me Ladybug and Cat Noir’s miraculous.”

* * *

The park was thankfully empty that day, leaving Nathalie with the rare opportunity to let Duusu wander around in public. She only flew around to inspect the trees and plants surrounding them for a few minutes before she flew back to sit on her shoulder.

“I’ve never seen you this upset. Mr. Gabriel must have done something very wrong,” she was thankfully being quiet.

“He just doesn’t think sometimes. It’s infuriating.”

“I can tell. You would be perfect for an akuma.”

“Unless he wants me to kill him, he’ll keep those butterflies of his far away from me.”

“I don’t understand. Don’t you want more akuma opportunities? Wouldn’t that be good?”

“I suppose it would, but he let Felix mess with Adrien and that is where I draw the line. When I agreed to help him, we both decided that no matter what, his son would be left out of all of this. Now he’s out here letting my so- I mean Adrien suffer at the hands of his evil little cousin.”

“But he hasn’t hurt anyone. He just annoys them.”

“I don’t care. If he’s messing with those around him, then an akuma is most likely going to get someone at that school. _ His _school! Gabriel should not be this calm about letting his akumas loose so close to him.”

“Maybe he will wait until school is over.”

“Duusu, when have you ever seen that man be patient? No, the minute he senses distress, he's going to jump on it. He can be so rash and blind and just…I hate it!”

“How about we go back and explain that to him, but with less yelling?”

“Yelling is the only way to get him to hear me sometimes.”

“That's not the only way. I see when you sit with him and talk, he listens to everything you say. He always relaxes when you’re near.”

“So what, I just walk in there, grab his hand, and tell him all of this?”

“Well, yeah! What’s the harm?”

“Oh you sweet summer child. It's not that simple.”

“Not that simple? You guys hold hands every other day and he’s always finding excuses to be near you or touch you. He trusts you.”

“If that were true then he would’ve listened earlier.”

“He isn’t going to listen when you’re angry and wounding his pride. We should go back and try to do it in a more calm manner. Give Mr. Gabriel more credit.”

“Sometimes I think I give him too much.”

Duusu smiled and opened her mouth to say something else, but a gasp came out instead. Nathalie was puzzled only for a second before she looked up and noticed people running down the street. They were running from something, but she hadn’t seen what that was yet.

“Oh great, he's projecting again,” she groaned.

She figured he had akumatized someone while she was far from the safety of the mansion just to spite her. He was such a baby sometimes. Maybe she’d tell him that later, if Duusu didn’t stop her first. Soon the monster of the day came into view as it slowly moved through the city.

The three girls were dressed in dark rags and looked like the witches you would see trying to tell fortunes or whisper some long forgotten prophecy to the hero in an old movie. They still looks young, but now had long wispy grey hair that danced around their heads like smoke. One had grey bandages wrapped around her eyes, another had them around her ears, and the third had them around her mouth. They were all kept together by golden chains tangled around their feet. The chains made an awful screeching sound as the akuma floated a few feet in the air, dragging them along the ground.

As they got closer, she could hear the words they chanted over and over again.

“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. You are guilty and you shall be aptly punished for it.”

“Miss Nathalie, we really should go,” Duusu said near her ear.

She was frozen to the spot as she watched the akuma in action. The chains around its feet multiplied and stretched like the tentacles of an octopus, as it searched for victims. Every poor soul that was caught would have a chain latch around their feet and drag them back to the three girls. There they would hold them up and judge them for their supposed crimes. 

She watched as one man was accused of lying to his wife and found guilty for the sin of speaking falsely. As a result, his voice was taken away when the girl with the bandage around her mouth simply raised her hand and pointed a finger at him. The chain then dropped him and they floated away, leaving him on all fours trying desperately to get his voice to work.

It was only when her kwami tugged on her sleeve with all her might, that Nathalie finally found her legs again. She ran as much as she could before she had to duck into a dark alley. She fell onto the ground and heaved for air. Times like these made her truly hate the cursed peacock miraculous for sapping her of all her stamina and strength.

Speaking of the miraculous, she had taken it out and was staring at it intently. She was supposed to use it sparingly and only when Hawkmoth needed her, but this could be classified as a special case. Duusu about lost her mind when she pinned the brooch to her shirt.

“Miss Nathalie, what are you doing!?” she asked, sounding almost...scared.

“It won’t attack Mayura, or at least I hope it won't.”

She had no idea how Gabriel felt about her at that moment so her safety wasn’t guaranteed, but it was better than her civilian form against an akuma.

“But, you’re still recovering. You need more time before you transform again.”

“What else can I do? I can’t outrun that thing on my own and I already know that I'm not immune to most akumas even if Hawkmoth is my boss. This can at least give me a fighting chance.”

“I don’t want you hurt.”

She looked at the kwami hovering in front of her now. Duusu had never looked more upset. She gently grabbed her and pressed against her cheek. It was as much of a hug as she could manage with the tiny being.

“I will be fine, ok? I won't even use my powers.”

“Fine…”

“Duusu! S-”

The words were caught in her mouth when she felt a chain wrap around her ankle and pull her forward. She tried to grab onto something to stop it from taking her, but it was useless. Duusu clung to her shoulder and whined as the chains pulled her high up into the air. When she finally came face to face with the akuma, she had to ignore the pounding in her head from being held upside down just so she could hear what they were saying to her.

“…you have been complaisant in the crimes of your boss against the people of this city and his own son. You stand by and listen to him tear down his own flesh and blood…” 

She looked right into the middle one’s eyes and hoped he would see her.

“Hawkmoth, stop this! Make them let me go,” she pleaded.

“…You watch him commit atrocities every day and yet you never speak out…”

“I know you’re mad, but you always said I'd be safe. You promised!”

“…Nathalie Sancoeur, you are guilty of all three of the high sins and you shall be punished for it dearly…” 

“Gabriel…”

She watched as the three simultaneously raised their hands, preparing to take away her voice, sight, and hearing all at once. He must have really been angry with her if he was refusing to exclude her from this. Perhaps she did deserve it. She closed her eyes and braced herself for their magic, but it never came. 

“Look Miss,” Duusu whispered in her ear.

Though she was upside down, she could clearly see that the akuma had froze completely and was being spoken to by Hawkmoth. She watched as they argued with the inevitable voice in their heads.

“What…why?”

“But she is guilty to the highest degree!”

“As you wish Hawkmoth, but let this be the only sinner we spare.”

No sooner had the neon symbols disappeared from their eyes did the chain around her ankle slacken completely, sending her plummeting to the ground below. The fear came back in full force as she watched the road shoot towards her faster and faster. She had almost reserved herself to the fact that she was about to get seriously hurt when arms wrapped around her. Her head was still in a fog, but she knew exactly who was carrying her. If he was still mad at her, he was hiding it well. All she could feel coming from him was a mix of fear and relief. 

* * *

He didn’t speak until he had set her on her feet in the lair. They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like forever. In the end, it was Nathalie who broke it.

“I’m sorry I left. I should’ve stayed and talked it out with you. Instead I ran off like a child.”

“Nathalie…”

“You had to leave the lair for me. You could have been seen! I’m such an idiot.”

“No you are not. I’m the idiot for taking out my anger with an akuma. I knew full well that you could possibly be caught in the crossfire, but I still went through with it. I am the one to blame here.”

He willed his legs to move and soon enough he found himself standing before her. It still caught him by surprise how much he dwarfed her when he was transformed. Still the woman before him cast a pretty big shadow.

“Seriously?” she whispered, her eyes glued to the floor.

“Would I lie about that?”

“No, but I just wanted to make sure I heard you right. Gabriel Agreste never admits defeat.”

“This is a special circumstance and nothing more. Do not expect this again.”

“I won't because I know you’re never doing that again.”

“Never in a million years…”

His tone had softened considerably, but she was still looking anywhere but him. It was only when he grabbed her chin and angled her face toward his that she was forced to finally meet his gaze. 

“I’m sorry for being so careless. You were right about Adrien, as you are when it comes to most things. I need to control myself better," he said with a sigh. 

“I’m glad you can see past your huge ego to understand that."

“Nat, I just saved your life, can you at least be a bit nicer? You can turn off assistant mode for now. I want my best friend."

She chucked at that. “I’m sorry. Duusu even suggested that I be nicer the next time we spoke. Guess I’m bad at listening.”

“I enjoy a woman that can keep me on my toes. It keeps me grounded.” 

“Oh really?”

“But only sometimes.”

“Then just this once,” she said as she grabbed onto the black lapel of his suit jacket and pulled him down to her level. "Do that again and I will kill you."

He grinned, "Oh yeah?"

"Yes and don't even think for a second that I am bluffing."

"Oh I don't doubt you are. On the contrary, I think that would be a rather good way to go."

She glared at him before that inevitable smile of hers broke through her walls. He was lucky to be on her good side once again. He knew all too well that his assistant was someone you didn't want as an enemy. She let go of him and started to back away but he reached out and pulled her back in for a tight hug. She relaxed and pressed her face into his chest. 

"Feel better?" his voice was only slightly muffled by her hair. 

"Possibly."

"Good. I hate when you're upset."

She smiled before pulling out of his embrace. He returned it with equal fervor when she allowed him to briefly grab her face, his thumb caressing her cheek. There was a nagging urge at the back of his head to pull her closer and kiss her, but he ignored it like the plague, even if he wanted it more than anything. Those kinds of thoughts could spread like wildfire if unchecked.

"Where are you going?" he asked when she turned to leave. 

"I’m making sure Adrien is ok and then I'm going to…_talk _ to Felix. He’s due for a very long one for daring to mess with your boy."

He chuckled as she stormed out of the lair, but then noticed a strange feeling in his chest. Was that joy at the prospect of his secretary looking out for his son? He had to admit he liked how protective she was of him. He realized he liked that very much as he de-transformed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The akuma name is a play on [Confucius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius) and their powers are based on the [Three Wise Monkeys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys). This most likely won't be what happens in the show, but I thought it would be a cool concept. MLB writers hmu if you need new akuma ideas! You can pay me in gabenath scenes


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened after Felix left?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops I accidentally wrote another chapter for this supposed one-shot hehe

"You seem happy today."

Nathalie looked up from her book and smiled at the little kwami perched on her knee. She only realized she had been humming when the voice pulled her from the pages before her. 

"How could I not be?" she said with a laugh. "The week from hell is finally over, Felix and his mom are long gone, and I can finally rest without worrying about that little gremlin causing more chaos." 

Duusu tilted her head in confusion, "What's a gremlin?" 

"Think of an annoying little monster that causes problems for everyone around it. They made a movie about them. I'll show it to you another time."

"Oh I understand. Felix sure did cause a lot of trouble while he was here."

"Yes he did and now that he's gone, that's one less thing I have to deal with in this house."

"Mr. Gabriel really didn't like him."

"He doesn't like a lot of people."

"But he likes you."

She could feel her cheeks turn red in response to the comment, but she ignored it. It was best for her to ignore any feelings of hers when it came to him. 

"No he's just familiar with me, that's all."

"Then why did that loud lady say he isn't physical with people? If he didn't like you, then he wouldn't touch you so much."

The heat had now risen to her ears. She thanked her lucky stars that Duusu was only this forward when she was with her. She could only imagine how things would be if she had a small blue blob sitting on top of her head and spouting all her secrets to her boss on the regular. 

"He just cares for my well being, Duusu. I wouldn't be able to do my job if he wasn't there to help me up sometimes."

"He doesn't only carry you though. He holds your hand, hugs you, grabs your face—There was even that time he kissed you!"

Her eyes went wide as she remembered the interaction between them. It had played through her mind on repeat for weeks after it happened. It was after she had used the miraculous the first time. She'd been too weak to work so he had carried her to a guest bedroom and insisted that she rest. It was right as sleep was overtaking her that she noticed him standing over her. He had quietly said something before bending down and pressing a light kiss on her forehead. 

She thought it had all been a dream until she woke up later and had to listen to Duusu gush about how cute it was. Even now, the kwami was known to still bring it up in order to fawn over how sweet the kiss had been. Back then she refused to let her tell her what he had whispered to her before, but now and then she found herself wondering just what had been said. 

"Do you remember?" 

"No I actually don't and it would be in your best interest to forget it as well."

"But it was sooooo cute!" 

"Duusu I swear, you can't talk about that. It was a mistake on his part, just a little slip up. It won't happen again."

Nathalie's stomach twisted when she saw her cast her eyes down in sadness. She hated to upset her kwami, but she had to put her foot down when it came to things like this, even if there was a voice in her head laughing over her justification of his actions. 

"I thought it was sweet though."

"It was inappropriate. Trust me, you can coo over Emilie and Gabriel's kisses when she gets back. You can do it as much as you please."

"She was mean. I didn't like her much."

"Mean? She was the sweetest person ever."

"Emilie yelled a lot."

"She was probably just stressed about whatever led to her using the miraculous. You can't fault her for that."

"I can and I will. You're much nicer and prettier anyway."

"Oh come on. Don't say things like that."

"It's the truth. She was only nice when Mr. Gabriel was around. Whenever he left, she would insult me for no reason. You never do that."

"I…" she sighed. This was the first time she was ever hearing of this and she had no idea what to think of it. She supposed the sickness had made Emilie irritable and that led to her losing her temper more often than not. In her short time with the peacock miraculous, Nathalie herself had learned that its kwami was a lot to handle. Perhaps Mrs. Agreste lacked the patience needed to deal with Duusu. 

She looked over at the clock and noted that it was getting late. 

"We should go to bed," she said finally.

Duusu was still buzzing about how sweet she was while she brushed her hair. She made no mention of Emilie or Gabriel, choosing instead to list off Nathalie's many merits as a person. It was all very flattering and sweet, but she still couldn't stop herself from thinking about what she had said. Sure Emilie could be fiery sometimes, but she was never purposely hurtful. 

Like many others, she ended up pushing the thought to the back of her head. She was rather good at ignoring things when she wanted to. 

Once she had climbed into bed and turned off the light, Duusu finally quieted down. She could sense the kwami was almost asleep, when she finally worked up the courage to ask her something she'd been curious about for a while.

“Duusu?” she whispered.

She nudged her gently until she heard a quiet reply.

“Yes, Miss Nathalie?”

“What did Gabriel say to me that day he kissed me?

“That he would be lost without you.”

“Thank you, you sweet thing. Get some rest now.”

“No problem,” she yawned.

She curled into her neck and was instantly fast asleep. Just because she was a god, that didn't mean she was immune to a little sugar crash like everyone else. 

Nathalie took to petting her head with a finger as she stared up at the ceiling. The moon shone through her curtains and cast shadows across the room. Without her glasses, she couldn't make out the exact shapes, but it was fun to act like she could. It was hard to ignore that most of the shadows were caused by the crystal chandelier hanging in the center of the room. 

She pulled her blankets closer to her and sighed. The sheets were most likely Egyptian cotton, while the comforter was probably stuffed with the feathers of some rare goose. Gabriel had made sure that everything in her room was the best that money could buy. She really needed to move back into her own apartment one of these days, lest it look like she was taking advantage of his rare hospitality. 

_ I’d be lost without you. _

It was a sweet sentiment, one she could never imagine him saying out loud. Still, the thought of him even thinking that way about her brought a small smile to her lips. Nathalie couldn’t help but feel like she’d be lost without him as well. The thought of him saying that circled her mind until she fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

It was a few hours later when Nathalie opened her eyes and immediately felt like something was off. The clock on her table told her it was three in the morning. She never woke up this early. Duusu was also nowhere to be found, but she was known to explore the house at night.

She only meant to roll onto her back and try to go back to sleep. The last thing she was expecting was to turn over and come face to face with her boss. 

"Sir! What are you doing here?" she asked, alarmed. 

"Gabriel."

"Huh?"

He reached forward and cupped her cheek, effectively calming her down. She felt his thumb gently caress her skin as he whispered his response. 

"Call me Gabriel. I hear people call me 'Sir' enough as it is."

"Alright then. Gabriel, what are you uh…doing in my bed?" 

"I couldn't sleep. I meant to ask you if it was ok to stay here, but I didn't want to wake you."

"You know I wouldn't have minded."

"I know. You're way too lenient with me."

His hand drifted to her hair, where he found her signature red streak, and started to curl it around his finger. He was happy to just lay there and play with her hair and she wasn't about to stop him. She watched as his eyes, narrowed in focus, followed his finger. It was the same look he often got while he was designing. Surely there was someone out there who would be incredibly honored to have a world famous fashion designer look at them the same way they looked at their designs. All she was thinking of was how nice it felt. 

"I'm so glad they're gone," he murmured. 

"Me too."

"Unwanted guests are such a bother."

"At least you got a few akumas out of Felix."

It was definitely true. The entire week had seen Felix giving Hawkmoth tons of new victims, but still not a single one was able to get the miraculous for him. 

"None of them succeeded."

"That was still six more chances for you. Even if they didn't win, there's always the possibility of exposing more of our heroes' flaws. None of them truly failed."

"You always manage to see the bright side of things."

"Well you didn't hire me for a _ lack _ of intuition."

"No. I hired you because I knew you were a kindred spirit that I could find comfort in even during the worst times."

To prove his point, he let go of her hair and trailed his hand down her side. His fingers lightly traced her arms and body before coming to rest on her waist and pulling her to him. Being this near to him made her feel light headed. She pressed her face to his chest and inhaled his scent. He smelled musky and warm—A very Gabriel scent. 

She always felt safest when she was in his arms, which was pretty ironic given his side job. Maybe it was this safety that allowed her to throw caution to the wind and press the rest of herself closer to him. Other than the times in which he had to carry her out of the lair, she had never been so close to him. His chest muffled her voice as she spoke. 

"I just realized something."

"What's that?" 

"You obviously never told Adrien what we talked about. Why not?" 

"It was…complicated."

"How? I watched you walk out there and sit with him. You two seemed more relaxed than anything."

"If you watched us then you also saw me leave."

"You were pretty upset. What did he say?" 

"Nothing I wasn't already aware of."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, Nat. It really was nothing. If anything, it's made me more aware of said…issue."

"Is it something I can help with at least?"

"You're already helping just by being here."

He tightened his arm around her and pressed his face into her hair, inhaling as he did. She didn't think her shampoo was that amazing or anything, but his sigh of relief afterwards would have anyone believing it smelled better than anything in the world. 

When he pulled away after too many minutes to count, he let his fingers mindlessly trace lines over her back. Even though she was well aware of her earlier denial, she knew that he tended to be more physical with her than he was with most people. Still it didn't mean that much. He was just seeking comfort in a friend…in bed. 

She wondered if he was like this with Emilie. Oh who was she kidding? Of course he was. She was his beloved wife and soulmate. He was probably glued to her night and day…as if he wasn't becoming more and more like that with Nathalie. 

She laughed inwardly. Duusu would probably be cheering them on if she saw them right now. Now that she knew how she felt about her former owner, she was sure the kwami was the biggest supporter of whatever it was that was brewing between them. 

"Something on your mind, dear Nathalie?"

"It's nothing. I don't want to ruin the moment."

"Just tell me. You'd have to say something pretty big for me to be upset while I have _ you _ in my arms."

"Well, Duusu said Emilie was mean to her sometimes. I figured she was just overwhelmed and stressed by the sickness caused by the miraculous. You never heard her insult her, did you?" 

"Never. I…couldn't even imagine her saying a single mean thing just for the sake of hurting someone."

"I thought the same thing, but then why was Duusu so adamant about it?" 

"She is the kwami of emotion. We shouldn't be surprised that she's a little dramatic."

"I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am. Now no more talk about this stuff. I don't want to think about any of it for tonight."

"Yes, sir." 

"Sir? Nathalie what did I te-" 

"Ah yes, I'm sorry. I'm just so used to it. Can you ever forgive me, Gabriel?" 

"Hmm…perhaps."

She saw the mischievous glint in his eye as he studied her. Before she could react, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He didn't stop there though. He continued to pepper her face with kisses until he made her giggle with delight. He pulled away when he heard the sweet sound. 

"Did you just giggle?" he asked. 

"Maybe. What if I did?" 

"I might like to hear it again if that's the case."

He tried to tell himself that he was only doing this because he liked to hear her laugh. It definitely wasn’t because he liked kissing her. This was platonic as long as he steered clear of her lips, right? It was also completely platonic to wake up the next day with his assistant fast asleep with her head on his chest. And it was also platonic if he didn’t wake her up and chose to watch her sleep as well. Adrien couldn’t have been right.

When she finally awoke and stared up at him with those big beautiful blue eyes of hers, he knew it all too well.

Yeah…he was screwed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t write that much fluff so this is definitely new territory. Also looks like I’m incapable of ever writing Emilie in a good light, oh well. Anyways two weeks til ya girl has a damn degree and more time for writing! Go read [The Beginning of Goodbye](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21086645) for clear skin


End file.
